The invention relates generally to the field of computer system storage and more particularly to a system and method for providing property histories of objects for more accurate forecasting of computer system storage capacity.
In the capacity planning process for computer system storage, data is collected on the use of storage in the environment, the data is analyzed to predict the future utilization of the container, and system states are defined (e.g., thresholds) that trigger actions to prevent containers from filling to their limits. The current practice of storage capacity planning collects information from the storage environment only about the utilization of containers without regard for their content. That is, when observations of the containers are made, the content of the container (i.e. objects residing in the container) is ignored. The size of each object in the storage environment is also not recorded or retained as the size history of that object. Likewise, predictions about future utilization are based on containers rather than individual objects; even though additions and deletions of individual objects and changes to objects can affect the utilization of the container.
Current storage capacity planning practices use a percent utilization threshold to initiate action. For example, if the container is projected to reach 90% utilization, then action must be taken. The growth rates of utilization of containers, however, may vary significantly. If the combined growth of the size of objects now in a container is rapid, then the utilization threshold may not allow enough time to act. On the other hand, if the growth is very slight, then a static threshold may be very aggressive and cause undue action.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for maintaining a historical record of individual objects residing on computer storage.
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved method for forecasting computer storage capacity by utilizing historical records of individual objects residing on the computer storage.
These and other objects are realized by the present invention comprising a system and method for managing storage resources in a computer system. The invention periodically tracks and stores the history of each object stored in the storage resources. For each storage container, the life expectancy is calculated by utilizing the object histories for all objects currently stored in that container.